About Me

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Independence Day in Montana

Distinctly Montana's summer issue appeared on the stands on July 2nd just as I was about to join the McNamer clan in Red Lodge to celebrate July 4th. I brought several copies of that glorious glossy magazine of Montana life with me to the reunion because my profile of their cousin, Missoula novelist Deirdre McNamer, appears alongside some funky photos of her taken by photographer Steven Begleiter (Page 46). The piece coincided with the publication of Deirdre's fourth novel RED ROVER (Viking Penguin) which already has received high acclaim from fellow writers, Richard Ford, Alice Munro, Jim Harrison and Tom McGuane. Set in Montana and loosely based on family history with a twist of mystery, I recommend that you put RED ROVER on your summer reading list.

Today I received an advance copy of the August issue of Smithsonian Magazine with my article: "Hemingway's Cuba, Cuba's Hemingway" inside (page 66). It will hit the news stands on July 26th, and your mailbox if you have a subscription before that. More on this in my next dispatch.

I'm heading out to Vienna (Austria, where else?) to attend a conference tomorrow. I include the country because when I first came to Montana in 1980 the local newspaper seemed to be filled with inconsequential items with international datelines. I learned about happenings in Glasgow, Amsterdam, Manhattan and Moscow. It took me some time to realize these places were within a pony ride of where I lived, hence the interest in broken fences and lost dogs. Will return on the 27th.

August will be a merry month. I'm giving an all day memoir writing workshop at the White Sulphur Springs Bookfest on Saturday August 4th. The following Saturday, August 11th I'll be talking in Butte at An Ri Ra, the famed Irish Festival. My gig follows that of the renowned artist, writer, publisher, gourmet, and former restauranteur, Russell Chatham. See you in Butte at 3:30 pm on August 11th.